After a period of more than 10 straight days of rain and cold, the sun finally shone on Mother's Day, May 10, and just in time for our annual Flower Show at Jenkins Arboretum. This year's show was special, for two reasons.

First, our hosts at Jenkins Arboretum have just completed construction of their new building, which includes a huge, sunlit room that was ideal for our Show. Hundreds of visitors poured into Jenkins on Mother's Day to see the new building and, of course, the fabulous gardens. Check our Online Photo Gallery for digital images of the new Meeting Room at Jenkins where the Flower Show was held.

Second, our usual group of Valley Forge Chapter exhibitors were joined this year by a contingent of exhibitors from the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. Beginning this year, the Greater Philadelphia Chapter and Valley Forge Chapters have agreed to alternate years for their respective flower shows. VF Chapter went this year; and GPC goes next. The members of both Chapters are urged to submit trusses in both shows. Valley Forge Chapter will not hold its next Flower Show until Mother's Day, 2011. The Greater Philadelphia Chapter more than held its own in our show this year, helping us fill the room with hundreds of flowers and taking home many ribbons and trophies.

Winners of this year's Show are listed below:

SWEEPSTAKES TROPHY (MOST POINTS): Cathy and Brian Keim
VALLEY FORGE CHAPTER TROPHY (BEST IN SHOW): Jenkins Arboretum, for R. ‘Gloria Still’
SORBER TROPHY (BEST RHODODENDRON): Cathy and Brian Keim, for NOLA (likely ‘John Paul II’)
GABLE TROPHY (BEST AZALEA): Jenkins Arboretum, for R. ‘Gloria Still’
RAUGHLEY TROPHY (BEST DECIDUOUS AZALEA): Sue & Marc Thomson (R. ‘Coral King’)
KLINE TROPHY (BEST SPECIES): Cathy and Brian Keim, for r. Austrinum
BEST EVERGREEN AZALEA: Jenkins Arboretum, for R. ‘Gloria Still’
HERBERT TROPHY (BEST NEW HYBRID): Jenkins Arboretum, for R. ‘Gloria Still’

Ribbons and trophies will be awarded at the Annual Picnic in June.

We had an all star list of judges for this year's show: Patricia Walton, Allan and Shirley Anderson and Frank Furman made the trip down from New Jersey, and Allan Glassman and John Doppel joined us from Lehigh County, PA. Between them, this group of judges has contributed some of the most interesting hybrids for our region in recent years.

Kudos:  to the Warrens and the Stampers, for yeomans duty as Clerks; to the hard working Chris Smetana, for handling the luncheon; to Howard Kline, our QC/classification guru, who personally checked each of the 250 entries; and to Linda Willhite, for scorekeeping.